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Friday, July 29, 2011

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I love tales told by those who are the power behind the throne. Those stories are especially delicious when they are told by people who have compelling stories of their own to tell. Judith Jones, the book editor who brought the likes of Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, and Madhur Jaffrey to print, is such a woman. Her work with these and other authors has changed the way we write and think about the food we eat. Her publishing career career began at Doubleday where she saved The Diary of Anne Frank from the rejection list. She later moved to Knopf where she saved Mastering the Art of French Cooking from a similar fate. Her stellar culinary roster was matched by literary clients who included John Updike, Anne Tyler and John Hersey. She has also written a number of her own cookbooks and a charming memoir, The Tenth Muse: My Life in Food. She believes that recipe writing should engage the senses and enable readers to use their own judgment. Her own recipes do just that. It's entirely fitting that she claim 8th place on the Gourmet Live list of 50 Women Game-Changers in Food.

I have chosen the simplest of recipes to represent her work. She calls it a Frenchified meat loaf. Having just made and served this for our supper, I can tell you it bears no resemblance to the meat loaf of childhood memory - unless of course you're French. This is a lovely entree whose flavors carry with them the scents and tastes of Provence. It's a dense loaf with a texture that is far more like a pate than a meat loaf. It will make wonderful cold sandwiches for tomorrow's lunch. I really think you'll like it. Here's the recipe as it was written by Judith Jones.

Instructions:1) Spin the bread in a blender to make crumbs; you should have 1-1/2 cups. Dump everything except the bay leaves, bacon, and wine into a big bowl, and blend well, preferably with your hands.2) Arrange the bay leaves on the bottom of a large loaf pan, and pack the meat mixture in. Place the strips of bacon on top, then pour the wine over, punching a few holes into the meat with your fingers so it will seep down a little. Let marinate for an hour or so, then bake in a preheated 325-degree oven for 1-1/2 hours. Turn out of the pan, and remove the bay leaves. And pour any pan juices on top. Serve hot. Yield: 6 servings.

Note: If veal is too expensive or hard to get, use about 3/4 beef to 1/4 pork, ground. If you prefer, slice the peeled garlic instead and press into the top of the meatloaf, then remove the slices before you turn the meatloaf out.

The following bloggers are also paying tribute to Judith Jones this week. I hope you'll visit all of them.

So much to learn about these fabulous women. I had no idea she saved the Anne Frank diary. Wow. We bought my husband's father her cookbook for one and I read it before we wrapped it. It's fabulous and I had to have one for myself. Love that you've chosen the meatloaf/pate today. So much like Judith.Sam

So much of French cooking is in fact comfort food. After all, not everyone in the country lives in Paris. Every time I go back to visit, it amazes me that the Europeans have been there for thousands of years and yet so much of their relatively small countries is farmland, pasture, or just plain countryside.

I actually made this for the first time last year and it has become a monthly staple in our house. Then only changes I made was to sub lamb for the veal and added a 1/4 cup of Worcestershire sauce....it increases the flavor.

This does sound and look like a country pate. I recently read "The Tenth Muse" for, what else, my Muse Book group. We all liked it a lot. I've also enjoyed her writings in Gourmet (alas, old Gourmet, I miss you). If you were to name the Muse of Food, what would it be?

Love her name for the meatloaf, Mary. I've read that using a combination of meats for meatloaves (and meatballs) gives the tastiest results. I don't make meatloaf anymore, but I'm tempted to try this recipe, and serve it next to Val's potatoes!

Weird as it sounds, I have NEVER made meat loaf. My kids are always begging for it - they feel like they are missing out part of their childhood, I think. This recipe looks perfect. I just might try it!

Mary - You did Judith proud with this meat loaf. Her cookbook on "Pleasures of Eating For One" helped me find the joy in cooking after my husband died last year. This is a wonderful series you're doing.

Well, I definitely want to try making this frenchified meatloaf as meatloaf is one of my comfort foods and there is nothing like a good meatloaf sandwich. Wouldn't you just love to sit around a dinner table with Judith Jones and all her clients?! What a great post, Mary.

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